Longboat Lore: Flies bugged residents on Fourth of July

Do you want flies with that?

A buzzing, rapidly multiplying fleet of flies pestered Longboat Key throughout the Fourth of July weekend in 2005.

The flies swarmed Freedom Fest and also bugged guests at the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort’s Fourth of July celebration.

Town officials said dead fish caused by a red tide outbreak attracted the unusual number of flies. Although most of the fish had been removed, there were a few stragglers stuck in the mangroves.

Still, a few flies weren’t enough to shoo away patriotic parade participants. Approximately 250 people attended Freedom Fest that year.

+ Town Commission gives final approval for Sister Keys purchase
The Longboat Key Town Commission gave final approval for the purchase of Sister Keys at its July 6, 1992, meeting. Most of the $975,000 the town paid came from the town’s land acquisition fund, while the Sister Keys Conservancy, a group of residents that worked for years to preserve the mangrove islands, contributed $46,000.

Because the islands are an environmental preserve, they’re not open to the public. Commissioners joked that “beware of rattlesnakes” signs could serve as both a warning and discouragement to anyone who might attempt to venture onto the island.

+ Classic Cops Corners
7/1/95 — 4:10 p.m. Two nude women in roadway, Northshore Road. Dressed and left on request.
7/6/01 — 10:11 a.m. 200 block of GMD. Disturbance. Subject said her boss fired her and then slammed a door in her face. She said this caused her eyes to twitch, which caused her blood pressure to rise, which caused a rash to form on her arm. Police informed her this was a civil matter.

+ Alligator makes surprise Gulf appearance
There was a 6-foot, long-toothed swimmer gliding through the Gulf, according to the July 8, 1982, issue of the Longboat Observer.

No, it wasn’t a shark, but, rather, an alligator that somehow found its way into the Gulf of Mexico.
Police shot the alligator, which was in poor condition.

The article reported that alligators prefer mangroves and brackish water and are almost as afraid of humans as we are of them — but emphasized the word almost.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].